The leader of the Arab League says he is confident that Israel and the Palestinians will resolve a crisis over the release of long-held Palestinian prisoners and extend their U.S.-brokered peace talks.

Nabil Elaraby told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday in Cairo that an April 29 deadline for the talks set by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be extended "for months." He says the spat over the Palestinian prisoners release also will be shortly resolved.

Elaraby did not elaborate, but he did say that he spoke to Kerry. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is currently in Egypt, where he met with Egyptian leaders. Abbas also held talks Thursday with the European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

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